New Zealand joins the Americas, Australia and the UK, which have all achieved this status for measles (CCSS Level: Grade 10, Words: 298)

Oct 12, 2017 Style & Living

A

A

A

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently verified that New Zealand has eliminatedendemicmeasles and rubella for the first time.

This means the serious and sometimes deadly childhood diseases are no longer a threat. No measles or rubella cases have originated in New Zealand for the past three years, though travellers do still catch the diseases overseas regularly, and bring them back said the Ministry of Health's director of public health Dr Caroline McElnay. But the status has won international praise from the WHO. New Zealand joins the Americas, Australia and the UK, which have all achieved this status for measles.

The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella, all which can be serious in young adults. Measles is extremely contagious and more than 95 percent of people need to be fully vaccinated to prevent sustained outbreaks according to Dr McElnay.

About 90 percent of young children have received both doses of MMR by age five in New Zealand, but only 80 percent of teenagers and young adults have had both doses, which leaves them still at risk. In NZ, people aged 12 to 32 have lower vaccination rates than young children so are less likely to be protected against these diseases. That's why teens and young adults have been most affected in the recentmumps outbreaks.

Professor of public health at the University of Otago Michael Baker said it was the culmination of decades of work to achieve high coverage of vaccinations. "It's just a great success story for New Zealand," he said. "In the end it means a high level of safely and protection for our children."

The WHO would officiallyannounce New Zealand's elimination of the potentially fatal childhood diseases at its Regional Committee for the Western Pacific's annual meeting, on Monday in Brisbane.